This makes for some very interesting reading:
By Lt. Col. Paul Yingling“You officers amuse yourselves with God knows what buffooneries and never dream in the least of serious service. This is a source of stupidity which would become most dangerous in case of a serious conflict.” – Frederick the Great
For the second time in a generation, the United States faces the prospect of defeat at the hands of an insurgency. In April 1975, the U.S. fled the Republic of Vietnam, abandoning our allies to their fate at the hands of North Vietnamese communists. In 2007, Iraq’s grave and deteriorating condition offers diminishing hope for an American victory and portends risk of an even wider and more destructive regional war.
These debacles are not attributable to individual failures, but rather to a crisis in an entire institution: America’s general officer corps. America’s generals have failed to prepare our armed forces for war and advise civilian authorities on the application of force to achieve the aims of policy. The argument that follows consists of three elements. First, generals have a responsibility to society to provide policymakers with a correct estimate of strategic probabilities. Second, America’s generals in Vietnam and Iraq failed to perform this responsibility. Third, remedying the crisis in American generalship requires the intervention of Congress.
Read the whole thing here.
I’ve got to hand it to LTC Yingling, he’s an active duty officer who has chosen to speak out while still staying in the service. He’s doing precisely what David Hackworth didn’t have the guts to do, try and change the service from the inside. While I think this takes courage, I believe the man’s career is doomed. You just can’t make a public statement like this and expect the “Old Boy Network” to let it pass. They are going to quietly eviscerate this guy. Bet on it.
As far as the article is concerned, well, it is scathing. And very accurate in many respects. I encourage everyone to read it. It’s not going to cause a sea change in the selection of general officers or anything drastic like that, but it will certainly cause a few ripples in the waters.
Marcus
Update: GI Korea has a good post on the article here. He points out the dishonesty of the media, and how they are using this as a hit piece on the war and the administration.
Update II: I’m reminded of this essay from John Ringo about finding the right leaders for this war. John wrote it at the start of the Iraq War and bears re-reading in context with LTC Yingling’s essay
QM